Rail clamp



June 1, 1943. K. HOLMESTED 2,320,868

RAIL CLAMP Filed Jan. 18, 1943 fiawzififwir/zesied Patented June 1, 1943 iJNlTED TNT RAIL CLAMP Francis K. Holmested, Charleston, W. Va.

8 Claims.

The present invention relates to rail clamps, and more particularly to clamps or stops adapted to be attached to railroad rails for the purpose of holding or stopping the movement of cars or other rolling stock thereover.

Many of the rail clamps heretofore proposed have embodied a multiplicity of parts, rendering them costly and complicated, and also entailing considerable time to apply them to and remove them from the rail, while others, while being of somewhat simpler form, have failed to develop sufficient holding power, especially under the impact of a moving car, to render them practicai,'and some of them will only stop the car from movement in one direction.

It is accordingly the primary object of this invention to provide a novel and improved rail clamp of extremely simple construction which may be quickly and easily applied to and removed from a rail, involves no moving or accessory parts and yet which is rugged and will rigidly lock itself to the rail and adequately resist movement when engaged by a car wheel, irrespective of whether the front or rear is engaged by the wheel.

A further important object is to provide a rail clamp of plate-like form having jaws which engage and lock against the undersides of the rail head, and is adapted to automatically twist and tilt and thereby lock itself to the rail when engaged by a car wheel.

Further objects will appear as the specification proceeds in conjunction with the annexed drawing, and from the appended claims.

In the drawing Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a railway rail showing the clamp of the invention being applied thereto, the dotted lines illustrating the initial position in placing the device on the rail, and the solid lines the final position after the clamp is rocked;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l, but illustrates the clamp or car stop after it has been twisted into locking position by the carwheel, the latter being shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a view of the structure of Fig. 2, as it appears when viewed from the right-hand side of that figure; and

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 2.

With continued reference to the drawing, in which like reference characters have been employed to designate like parts throughout the several views, the invention is illustrated as being applied to a car rail l0, having a web H and a head l2, the undersides of the head being designated l3 and M.

The clamp of the invention is preferably made up of a single cast, rolled or forged steel plate I5, of a thickness to give it sufficient strength and rigidity to withstand the stresses to which it is subjected, but if desired it may be constructed of a plurality of thinner plates bolted or riveted together, and the appended claims are intended to embrace single or multiple part bodies.

I have found that by providing the body with a pair of jaws or arms dapted to fit over the rail, and providing a lug on each jaw that will extend below the rail head, and so dimensioning the parts that the lugs will seat under the rail head at the opposite sides thereof whenthe body is twisted on the rail head in response to engagement of a car wheel therewith, and will also tilt away from a vertical plane, the body will lock itself securely to the rail, and yet, whenpressure of the car wheel is relieved the device may be readily grasped, rocked transversely and removed from the rail.

The clamp body is provided with a large upper portion it, of sufficient area to be engaged by the flange I l of a car wheel is, as seen in Figs. 2 and 4. The lower or base portion of the body is provided with preferably integral arms or jaws I9 and 2t, spaced apart a distance somewhat greater than the width of the rail head and joined by a surface 22, adapted to fit on top of the rail head and limit downward movement of the device on the rail.

Jaws l9 and 2| are provided with lugs or ears 23 and 24 respectively, which, when the device is in operative position, are operable to lock the clamp to the rail. As seen in the drawing, lug 23 is of square form while lug 24 is rounded, and the clamp is preferably applied with lug 24 at the outside of the rail, as seen in dotted lines, with the rounded nose in the dihedral angle formed by the junction of web H with surface l4. The body may then be rocked, about the nose of lug 24 as a fulcrum, into the full line position shown in Fig. I, lugs 23 and 24 being spaced apart a distance less than the width of the rail head, but sufiiciently to insure lug 23 clearing the edge of the rail head when the clamp is rocked from the dotted to the full line position of Fig. 1, and sufficient clearances being provided between the jaws to facilitate rocking.

Spacing the jaws and lugs as just described makes it possible for the car wheel flange to automatically twist and tilt the clamp into the securely locking position shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. As observed in Figs. 2 and 4, the wheel flange applies an off-center force to portion E5 of the clamp, causing it to be twisted about a substantially vertical axis, bringing its lugs 23 and 24 under, and into locking relationship with rail head surfaces I3 and [4, surface 22 resting upon the rail head and assisting in maintaining the clamp in assembled position on the rail,

After the foregoing operation has been completed, either manually or by the flange of the car wheel, so as to seat the lugs under the rail head, frictional resistance is developed through a tilting action effected by the car wheel, which binds surface 22 against the top of the rail head, and the lugs against surfaces l3 and M of the rail head. Most of the frictional resistance is developed by lug 23 on the inside of the rail,

because the wheel flange overrides the clamp and presses the inside of the clamp down. This forces the outside lug 23 up against the underside of the rail head, and also, to a lesser extent presses inside lug 2d upwardly against the rail head.

Both lugs accordingly coact with the rail head to hold the clamp on the rail and to develop adequate car holding power and are both essential to a successful device embodying the invention, although it is to be understood that minor changes may be made in the shape of the lugs, and the clearances may also be varied within limits, to adapt the clamp to the particular type and size of rail on which it is to be used.

Since both front and rear faces of my novel clamp are of the same shape, and since it coacts with the rail in the same manner when it is rocked in the opposite direction from that shown in Fig. 3, it will be equally effective to hold the car if the wheel engages the right rather than the left side as seen in Fig. 3, and it will be twisted into proper locking relationship with the rail head.

When it is desired to remove the the rail, it is merely necessary to clamp of car wheel pressure, twist full line position of Fig. 1, and then rock it into the dotted line position, when it may be freely disengaged from the rail.

It is accordingly apparent from the fore-- going detailed disclosure of the invention that the present invention provides a novel rail clamp or car stop of simple one-piece rugged construction, which may be readily applied to a rail. will develop adequate holding power and securely lock itself to a rail when engaged by a car wheel, without recourse to wedges, swinging latches or other additional devices, and which may readily be removed from the rail after it clamp from relieve the it into the has served its purpose and moved to a new location,

I claim as my invention:

1. A rail clamp comprising a body of substantially fiat form in a direction transversely of the rail axis and having a portion adapted to extend above the rail for engagement by a car wheel flange, said body also having a portion adapted to fit over the rail head and providing a pair of lugs, located in the plane of the body and extending below the rail head and each being adapted to engage the under side of the rail head when said body is rocked about its vertical axis in response to engagement of a car wheel flange therewith.

2. A rail clamp comprising a plate-like body adapted to be placed transversely on a rail and having a jaw-like base adapted to fit over the rail head, each jaw having an inwardly directed lug located below, and adapted to coact with the undersides of the rail head when said body is'rocked about a substantially vertical axis, said body having a portion extending above the rail head and projecting laterally sufficiently to be engaged by a car wheel flange.

3. The rail clamp defined in claim 2, wherein the lugs on said jaws are rigid therewith and arranged to seat themselves under the rail head when the clamp is rocked about a substantially vertical axis and to engage the undersides of the rail head when the clamp is tilted.

l. The rail clamp defined in claim 2, wherein said lugs are spaced from each other a distance materially less than the width of the rail head.

5. The rail clamp defined in claim 2, wherein one of said lugs is of rounded form and the other is of square form.

6. In a rail clamp, a fiat plate-body like adapted to be supported on a rail head transversely to the rail axis and having a pair of jaws at its lower end spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the rail head, said jaws having inwardly directed lugs located below the rail head and spaced apart a distance sufiiciently great to permit the clamp to be mounted on a rail with one lug disposed under the rail head adjacent the web, and then rocked about an axis parallel to the rail to bring the other lug under the rail head.

'7. The rail clamp defined in claim 6, wherein said one lug is of rounded form, to facilitate fulcruming coaction with the rail head and web, and the other lug is square, to develop maximum holding power.

8. The rail clamp defined in claim 6, wherein said one lug is of rounded form and is adapted to coact with the outer side of the rail head, and the other is of square form.

FRANCIS K. HOLMESTED. 

